1. You can always start with zoology... Maybe this is very broad sounding, but I've received many ideas for new characters because I would start with a Genus, and study the cladogram. Then, I would look into subspecies. And from there, I would find some inspiration... okay maybe that sounds confusing too and doesn't help. WHAT I MEAN IS... Wikipedia can be a great source for inspiration. Spend time browsing pages on animals, you will end up discovering something new and interesting. If I didn't study Canis, I would never of learned about the Indian wolf, the Darwin's fox, or Bush dog! 

   2. To further add to studying: take some time to learn about the animal you end up choosing. Learn about their habitat, conservation status, diet, anything you find interesting. This may have no impact on the actual design outcome, but you may learn something new or interesting and make you appreciate your chosen animal species. I feel I learn something new about the Virginia Opossum everytime I research them. Did you know that the back opposable thumbs of an Virginia Opossum don't have a nail/claw at all?  I still do give them a claw though lol. 

   3. Let natural markings be your starting point. Even if you go with an unnatural design or wild colors, studying real markings can inspire you a lot. You can incorporate parts of real markings or colors and it will help the final design still read as that animal even if you use a lot of wild colors/other markings. (If that is your intention, of course.)

   4. Subspecies an be a great source of inspiration as well. Certain subspecies can also have some unique traits, coloration, etc depending on the animal. When I'm designing characters, I love giving them a specific subspecies, mostly because in a way it educates other people about a subspecies they may not know exists. Tex isn't just a coyote, he's a California valley coyote! Which are similar to Canis latrans Coyote but have larger ears.

   5. Don't be afraid to stylize the animal in any way YOU personally enjoy. Though, it's always good to understand the shapes first before stylization. Some people may be afraid their animals may end up "dog" like or not use the "right" nose. In the end, it's whatever you enjoy. There are many instances I enjoy peoples very specific stylization of animals. It can also really contribute to the final design!

   6. For me I use hybrids as an excuse to take parts from two different animals I like best, and put together! But it can lead to some really good designs! When I was making my deer fursona, I preferred elk antlers and darker colors, but love white tail deer's nose shape and markings, so I combined the two. Of course, I could always just make a white tail deer and give it elk antlers with no other explanation or reason. But learning about elk species and traits and combining them helped inspire the end design! And they can be completely unrelated animals as well. I really love the idea of a wolf-cow fantasy hybrid. When you combine two completely different aniamls you REALLY get to have fun picking out which parts you prefer. Hooves or paws? Cow ears or wolf ears? Cow tail or wolf tail? I also liked having wolf teeth, but cow horns, cow nose but wolf eyes, and so on. But someone could make it to have a wolf nose, but horizontal cow pupils, no horns, but wolf ears and cow tail, etc.

   7. Sometimes using a moodboard can help make your design!! Sometimes I will start with a theme, a mood, a group of images, a popular aesthetic / -core, which leads to the design. Arcade is kinda a good example of this. I started WITH the moodboard/theme, I wanted something dark but neon, with sort of a neon, casino vibe? Honestly if I didn't start with that first, I would of never ended up with that design, and its one of my favorites.

   8. You don't have to go into a design knowing what you want, at all. MANY times I'm making adopts or personal characters I only have a very rough idea, or literally just the species. It's through /experimentation/ and trying new things that lead to the design. I may START with natural markings, but then I do weird things with them as I go along, try new colors I've never used before, etc. Sometimes I'll add a filter at the end, and I like it way more than what I spent an hour on.. LOL